The present invention relates to an automatic music generation procedure and system. It applies, in particular, to the broadcasting of background music, to teaching media, to telephone on-hold music, to electronic games, to toys, to music synthesizers, to computers, to camcorders, to alarm devices, to musical telecommunication and, more generally, to the illustration of sounds and to the creation of music.
The music generation procedures and systems currently known use a library of stored musical sequences which serve as a basis for manipulating automatic random assemblies. These systems have three main types of drawback:
firstly, the musical variety resulting from the manipulation of existing musical sequences is necessarily very limited;
secondly, the manipulation of parameters is limited to the interpretation of the assembly of sequences: tempo, volume, transposition, instrumentation; and
finally, the memory space used by the xe2x80x9ctemplatesxe2x80x9d (musical sequences) is generally very large (several megabytes).
These drawbacks limit the applications of the currently known music generation systems to the non-professional illustration of sounds and to didactic music.
The present invention intends to remedy these drawbacks. For this purpose, the subject of the present invention, according to a first aspect, is an automatic music generation procedure, characterized in that it comprises:
an operation of defining musical moments during which at least four notes are capable of being played;
an operation of defining two families of note pitches, for each musical moment, the second family of note pitches having at least one note pitch which is not in the first family;
an operation of forming at least one succession of notes having at least two notes, each succession of notes being called a musical phrase, in which succession, based on a phrase of at least three notes, each note whose pitch belongs exclusively to the second family is surrounded exclusively by notes of the first family; and
an operation of outputting a signal representative of each note pitch of each said succession.
By virtue of these arrangements, the succession of note pitches has both a very rich variety, since the number of successions that can be generated in this way is several thousands, and harmonic coherence, since the polyphony generated is governed by constraints.
According to particular characteristics during the operation of defining two families of note pitches, for each musical moment, the first family is defined as a set of note pitches belonging to the current harmonic chord duplicated from octave to octave.
According to further particular characteristics, during the operation of defining two families of note pitches, the second family includes at least the pitches, of a scale whose mode has been defined, which are not in the first family.
By virtue of these arrangements, the definition of the families is easy and the alternation of notes of the two families is harmonious.
According to further particular characteristics, during the operation of forming at least one succession of notes having at least two notes, each musical phrase is defined as a set of notes the starting times of which are not mutually separated, in pairs, by more than a predetermined duration.
By virtue of these arrangements, a musical phrase consists, for example, of notes the starting times of which are not separated by more than three semiquavers (or sixteenth notes).
According to further particular characteristics, the music generation procedure furthermore includes an operation of inputting values representative of physical quantities and in that at least one of the operations of defining musical moments, by definition of two families of note pitches, formed from at least one succession of notes, is based on the value of at least one value of a physical quantity.
By virtue of these arrangements, the musical piece may be put into relationship with a physical event, such as an image, a movement, a shape, a sound, a keyed input, phases of a game whose physical quantity is representative, etc.
According to a second aspect, the subject of the invention is an automatic music generation system, characterized in that it comprises:
a means of defining musical moments during which at least four notes are capable of being played;
a means of defining two families of note pitches, for each musical moment, the second family of note pitches having at least one note pitch which is not in the first family;
a means of forming at least one succession of notes having at least two notes, each succession of notes being called a musical phrase, in which succession, for each moment, each note whose pitch belongs exclusively to the second family is surrounded exclusively by notes of the first family; and
a means of outputting a signal representative of each note pitch of each said succession.
The subject of the present invention, according to a third aspect, is a music generation procedure, characterized in that it comprises:
an operation of processing information representative of a physical quantity during which at least one value of a parameter called a xe2x80x9ccontrol parameterxe2x80x9d is generated;
an operation of associating each control parameter with at least one parameter called a xe2x80x9cmusic generation parameterxe2x80x9d each corresponding to at least one note to be played during a musical piece; and
a music generation operation using each music generation parameter to generate a musical piece.
By virtue of these arrangements, not only may a note depend on a physical quantity, as in a musical instrument, but a music generation parameter relating to at least one note to be played depends on a physical quantity.
According to particular characteristics, the music generation operation comprises, successively:
an operation of automatically determining a musical structure composed of moments comprising bars (or mesures), each bar having times and each time having note start locations;
an operation of automatically determining densities, probabilities of the start of a note to be played, these being associated with each location; and
an operation of automatically determining rhythmic cadences according to densities.
According to particular characteristics, the music generation operation comprises:
an operation of automatically determining harmonic chords which are associated with each location;
an operation of automatically determining families of note pitches according to the rhythmic chord which is associated with a location; and
an operation of automatically selecting a note pitch associated with each location corresponding to the start of a note to be played, according to said families and to rules of predetermined composition.
According to further particular characteristics, the music generation operation comprises:
an operation of automatically selecting orchestral instruments;
an operation of automatically determining a tempo;
an operation of automatically determining the overall tonality of the piece;
an operation of automatically determining an intensity for each location corresponding to the start of a note to be played;
an operation of automatically determining the duration of each note to be played;
an operation of automatically determining rhythmic cadences of arpeggios; and/or
an operation of automatically determining rhythmic cadences of accompaniment chords.
According to particular characteristics, during the music generation operation each density depends on said tempo (speed of performing the piece).
According to a fourth aspect, the subject of the invention is a music generation procedure which takes into account a family of descriptors, each descriptor relating to several possible start locations of notes to be played in a musical piece, said procedure comprising, for each descriptor, an operation of selecting a value, characterized in that, for at least some of said descriptors, said value depends on at least one physical quantity.
According to a fifth aspect, the subject of the present invention is a music generation system, characterized in that it comprises:
a means of processing information representative of a physical quantity designed to generate at least one value of a parameter called a xe2x80x9ccontrol parameterxe2x80x9d;
a means of associating each control parameter with at least one parameter called a xe2x80x9cmusic generation parameterxe2x80x9d each corresponding to at least one note to be played during a musical piece;
a music generation means using each music generation parameter to generate a musical piece.
According to a sixth aspect, the subject of the invention is a music generation system which takes into account a family of descriptors, each descriptor relating to several possible start locations of notes to be played in a musical piece, characterized in that it comprises a means for selecting, for each descriptor, a value dependent on at least one physical quantity.
By virtue of each of these arrangements, the music generated is consistent and pleasant to listen to, since the musical parameters are linked together by constraints. In addition, the music generated is neither xe2x80x9cgratuitousxe2x80x9d, nor accidental, nor entirely random. It corresponds to external physical quantities and may even be made without any human assistance, by the acquisition of values of physical quantities.
The subject of the present invention, according to a seventh aspect, is a music generation procedure, characterized in that it comprises:
a music generation initiation operation;
an operation of selecting control parameters;
an operation of associating each control parameter with at least one parameter called a xe2x80x9cmusic generation parameterxe2x80x9d corresponding to at least two notes to be played during a musical piece; and
a music generation operation using each music generation parameter to generate a musical piece.
According to particular characteristics, the initiation operation comprises an operation of connection to a network, for example the Internet network.
According to further particular characteristics, the initiation operation comprises an operation of reading a sensor.
According to further particular characteristics, the initiation operation comprises an operation of selecting a type of music.
According to further particular characteristics, the initiation operation comprises an operation of selecting musical parameters by a user.
According to further particular characteristics, the music generation operation comprises, successively:
an operation of automatically determining a musical structure composed of moments comprising bars, each bar having beats and each beat having note start locations;
an operation of automatically determining densities, probabilities of the start of a note to be played, these being associated with each location;
an operation of automatically determining rhythmic cadences according to densities.
According to further particular characteristics, the music generation operation comprises:
an operation of automatically determining harmonic chords which are associated with each location;
an operation of automatically determining families of note pitches according to the chord associated with a location, with the position of this location within the beat of one bar, with the occupancy of the adjacent positions and with the presence of the possible adjacent notes;
an operation of automatically selecting a note pitch associated with each location corresponding to the start of a note to be played, according to said families and to predetermined composition rules.
According to further particular characteristics, the music generation operation comprises:
an operation of automatically selecting orchestral instruments;
an operation of automatically determining a tempo;
an operation of automatically determining the overall tonality of the piece;
an operation of automatically determining an intensity for each location corresponding to the start of a note to be played;
an operation of automatically determining the duration of each note to be played;
an operation of automatically determining rhythmic cadences of arpeggios; and/or
an operation of automatically determining rhythmic cadences of accompaniment chords.
According to further particular characteristics, during the music generation operation each density depends on said tempo (speed of performing the piece).
According to an eighth aspect, the subject of the present invention is a music generation system characterized in that it comprises:
a music generation initiation means;
a means of selecting control parameters;
a means of associating each control parameter with at least one parameter called a xe2x80x9cmusic generation parameterxe2x80x9d corresponding to at least two notes to be played during a musical piece;
a music generation means using each music generation parameter to generate a musical piece.
According to a ninth aspect, the subject of the present invention is a musical coding procedure, characterized in that the coded parameters are representative of a density, of a rhythmic cadence and/or of families of notes.
By virtue of each of these arrangements, the generated music is consistent and pleasant to listen to, since the musical parameters are linked together by control parameters. In addition, the music generated is neither xe2x80x9cgratuitousxe2x80x9d nor accidental, nor entirely random. It corresponds to control parameters and may even be made without any human assistance, by means of sensors.
These second to ninth aspects of the invention have the same particular characteristics and the advantages as the first aspect. These are therefore not repeated here.
The subject of the invention is also a compact disc, an information medium, a modem, a computer and its peripherals, an alarm, a toy, an electronic game, an electronic gadget, a postcard, a music box, a camcorder, an image/sound recorder, a musical electronic card, a music transmitter, a music generator, a teaching book, a work of art, a radio transmitter, a television transmitter, a television receiver, an audio cassette player, an audio cassette player/recorder, a video cassette player, a video cassette player/recorder, a telephone, a telephone answering machine and a telephone switchboard, characterized in that they comprise a system as succinctly explained above.
The subject of the invention is also a digital sound card, an electronic music generation card, an electronic cartridge (for example for video games), an electronic chip, an image/sound editing table, a computer, a terminal, computer peripherals, a video camera, an image recorder, a sound recorder, a microphone, a compact disc, a magnetic tape, an analog or digital information medium, a music transmitter, a music generator, a teaching book, a teaching digital data medium, a work of art, a modem, a radio transmitter, a television transmitter, a television receiver, an audio or video cassette player, an audio or video cassette player/recorder and a telephone.
The subject of the invention is also:
a means of storing information that can be read by a computer or a microprocessor storing instructions for a computer program, characterized in that it makes it possible for the procedure of the invention, as succinctly explained above, to be implemented locally or remotely;
a means of storing information which is partially or completely removable and is readable by a computer or a microprocessor storing instructions for a computer program, characterized in that it makes it possible for the procedure of the invention, as succinctly explained above, to be implemented locally or remotely; and
a means of storing information obtained by implementation of the procedure according to the present invention or use of a system according to the present invention.
The preferred or particular characteristics, and the advantages of this compact disc, of this information medium, of this modem, of this computer, of these peripherals, of this alarm, of this toy, of this electronic game, of this electronic gadget, of this postcard, of this music box, of this camcorder, of this image/sound recorder, of this musical electronic card, of this music transmitter, of this music generator, of this teaching book, of this work of art, of this radio transmitter, of this television transmitter, of this television receiver, of this audio cassette player, of this audio cassette player/recorder, of this video cassette player, of this video cassette player/recorder, of this telephone, of this telephone answering machine, of this telephone switchboard and of these information storage means being identical to those of the procedure as succinctly explained above, these advantages are not repeated here.